Last post we covered the many possibilities of the adverb ainda. Today, we’ll move on to another very popular term in our language: nossa. It is, again, one of those words that is so common that Brazilians likely use it on a daily basis.

Nossa is literally a possessive pronoun for nós (we) in the singular feminine form: nossa mãe (our mom), nossa cadeira (our chair), nossa gata (our cat). All of these nouns above are feminine and in the singular form. Take a look at these other examples:

However, nossa is also used as a slang word in Portuguese. It shows surprise, wonder and astonishment. It works as an interjection, a sort of informal exclamation that could be translated as “wow”, “my goodness”, “gosh”, “gee” or something like that.

If we were to trace it back to its possible origins, nossa might derive either from the phrase: nossa senhora! or minha nossa!, both of which also express shock and amazement. Nossa senhora in Portuguese means Our Lady (a good way to help you associate nossa with the possessive pronoun).

Our Lady – Nossa Senhora The possible origin of the expression

When we say nossa, the senhora is dropped, but it still shows a great deal of religious influence in our speech. See some examples:

Jerome: Really enjoy your posts. On this one, I notice that you used an English word of questionable authenticity — “…time “flied.” Should have been flew according to my sources. Or, maybe, how time flys. Keep up the good work, I know you are helping many people. JES